1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of miniature houses and play areas for pets, and more particularly, to a house for a pet cat having a dark enclosed portion with an entrance opening from an adjoining porch area, the porch area being bordered by vertical walls to resemble an open box for attracting the cat.
2. Background Information
Anyone who has ever observed a pet cat quickly observes that the cat has several hiding or resting places. Among the more common hiding or resting places are inside paper bags and cardboard boxes. Particularly desirable, from the cat's point of view, are long narrow boxes in which only a side opening exists. However, even a simple box, such as a carton used to contain twenty-four conventional soda or beer cans, becomes a play or rest area for the typical cat. On the other hand, if a mat, mattress, or other non-walled structure is laid out for a cat, the average cat will ignore that element, preferring a corner, box or other enclosed area.
There have long been miniature houses for animals, including cats. These houses often have been designed to charm and entertain the cat owner with their external similarity to human houses. While designing a cat house to charm the owner is important from a commercial view, since it is the owner who is spending the money to purchase the house, the cats are frequently reluctant to use the house. This reluctance may result from a lack of privacy or containment or a lack of a definable territory. Cat owners often find, to their dismay, that the cat prefers an open-topped cardboard box to the store bought expensive house. It has been found that if an enclosed house has a fully enclosed front porch area added thereto, which porch resembles an open top box, cats are attracted to use and enjoy the house to a much greater extent than they used a similar house without such a porch.
3. Description of the Prior Art
Most pet houses for cats described in the prior art consist of enclosures with closed tops and one or more side entrance ports. An example is the two story cat condominium of Houser, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,952, issued on Feb. 14, 1989. The Houser structure includes feeding, sleeping and rest room features, and is disposable. A problem with Houser is that it is simply a typical closed structure which cats are reluctant to enter. While a porch area is provided on the second story portion of Houser, the porch has no side walls which might give it the appeal or appearance of a open cardboard box. Thus, despite the appeal to the cat owner, the Houser structure will remain unused by the cat.
Binkert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,116, issued on Mar. 18, 1986, discloses a collapsible tent like structure having two walls leaning together to form a peak. The walls are connected at their upper edges by hinges and at their lower edges by a sheet of fabric. The walls swing together on the hinges while the sheet folds, for compact storage. Carpet is provided on the walls to permit the walls to double as a scratching surface. In apparent recognition that a cat may not wish to enter such a structure, toys are suspended within the open ends. If the cat must be bribed into entering the house, a failure in the design is indicated.
Buxton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,286, issued on Dec. 27, 1988, discloses a collapsible house for a domestic animal. It is formed of a skeletal frame covered with fabric and includes a porch area provided in communication with an enclosed section. The porch area has an open side and a covered roof to shield the interior from the elements, and thus, is nothing more than an extension of the house itself. The inclusion of the porch area in Buxton does nothing to attract the animal to enter the structure. In fact, because the porch has a covered roof, it is like a tunnel and makes the interior of the enclosed section seem more confining.
An animal housing unit which is essentially a stylized bucket placed on its side is disclosed in Cockrell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,912, issued on Feb. 24, 1970. A front panel with an entrance port snaps into a groove in the open end of the housing member. The chief advantage of Cockrell is that removal of the front panel permits housing members to fit one inside the other for compact storage. Again, while a feature is provided which may appeal to the human owner, no provision is made to attract a cat to use the house.
Bellocchi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,761, issued on Dec. 11, 1979, teaches a pet house which is a box having an open side and a hole in the top. A peg projects vertically from the top and supports a toy suspended from a string. The animal can reach through the hole to play with the toy. The top can be slid along tracks and removed so that the owner can clean the house and gain access to the animal. Bellocchi, however, is not sufficiently open to have the appeal of an open box, and not sufficiently closed to offer the privacy or territorial definition and other benefits of a full enclosure.
Reich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,807, issued on Sept. 7, 1982, teaches a multi-level cat condominium. The floors are shelves which can be removed and the enclosure folded flat for storage. Carpet is attached to the exterior for the cat to scratch. Although Reich provides multiple levels, each level is still a fully enclosed cavity with a single entrance port. No inducement is offered to attract the cat to enter any of them.
Other pet houses in the prior art share the same characteristics and disadvantages. These disclose miniature house structures with roofs and side entrances, and include Latura, U.S. Pat. No. 2,410,221, issued on Oct. 29, 1946; Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 1,754,590, issued on Apr. 15, 1930; Mathis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,577, issued on Feb. 18, 1975 and Holland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,223, issued on July 5, 1983. All are confining, isolating enclosures with no provision for attracting cats to enter. Thus, despite their visual appeal and apparent advantages to the owner, they may go unused.
What is needed is a house adapted particularly for a pet house cat with structural features to accommodate the natural preferences and needs of cats, while at the same time appealing to the human preferences of the cat's owner. One attractive structural form known to be preferred by cats is the open topped box, particularly a box with low sides, similar to the cardboard boxes used to contain twenty-four aluminum cans. Incorporating this kind of enclosure element into the entrance area of a pet cat's house attracts the cat to use and enjoy the house. Another structure known to be preferred by cats is the enclosed box with a relatively small side opening and incorporation of this element would additionally add a useful function to the cat's house. By combining these two elements, the cat can choose between two structures it likes and alternatively use one or the other as the cat's mood changes.